I have learned a lot reading through these forums and I wanted to get your tips on starting my system.

I recently graduated college and I have some money to finally invest in a real system. I went to the dealer to listen but they were pretty pushy with products I didn't think were that impressive. Mostly I want to use it for music but I want to be able to use it for TV, Xbox and Blu-Ray as well. My budget is around $2000 for everything. Any thoughts?

Just a local Austin dealer. I also stopped by the Magnolia in Best Buy to see what they had. Polk, Devore, and Definitive Tech weren't anything special. The B&W speakers they had were a head and shoulders above anything else I have looked at.

I will use the system mostly for music so 2 channel.

I don't really need FM/AM. I listen to my own music mostly.

I don't have any gear. Rather than buying cheap crap, I have just been saving money.

I listen to everything but mostly rock (Foo Fighters, Taking Back Sunday, etc.) around 90 db

It is a 15'x15' living room but the kitchen and dining room are open and attached to it.

I was planning on using the system as the speakers for my TV for movies so placing them on both sides of my tv (60") on one wall.

For your source you can't go wrong with an Oppo BDP-103 @ $499. It's an excellent universal player. That will do justice to CD/SACD/DVD-A/DVD and BluRay.

For speakers you already like B&W. My only advice there is what I always say. Don't buy any speaker unless you have actually heard and liked it.

I will put in a plug for Magnepan MMG's. They have a 30 day money back in home trial. Magnepan does this because very few pairs get returned. In addition, if you buy the MMG's within a year you can apply the full purchase price to trade them in on a larger pair of Magnepan's. Although I don't currently own Magnepan's ( I have esl's) I have in the past. IMO the various models in their price ranges are the best buys in audio.

For a budget like yours, I would say start with the Music Hall A15.2 amplifier.

I think it is by far the best-sounding amplifier in its price range, and even compares well with many that cost twice as much. You can get it for only $499 at Music Direct, which IMO is a steal. It also has a built-in phono preamp, which will save you $200 or so if you ever add a turntable.

I woulkd also go with the OPPO BDP-103; that is an outstanding CD/SACD (and DVD) player for $499; nothing better at anything like that price.

For speakers, I would suggest the KEF C7 speakers. They are $429 each at the KEF Direct website, and I can't think of anything for under $1000 that is going to be as good; they are very good speakers.

B & W makes some good speakers, but dollar for dollar they don't really measure up to the competition; they are quite expensive for what you get.

PSB, Monitor Audio, and KEF all have speakers that will outperform B & W at any price point.

SilentEcho wrote:

Hey guys, I have learned a lot reading through these forums and I wanted to get your tips on starting my system. I recently graduated college and I have some money to finally invest in a real system. I went to the dealer to listen but they were pretty pushy with products I didn't think were that impressive. Mostly I want to use it for music but I want to be able to use it for TV, Xbox and Blu-Ray as well. My budget is around $2000 for everything. Any thoughts? Thanks